TANKS BACK ASSAULT

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33814, 10 April 1975, Page 13

TANKS BACK ASSAULT

GVew Zealand Press Association—Copyright)

SAIGON. April 9.

North Vietnamese forces backed by tanks attacked the provincial capital of Long Khatib. 40 miles east of Saigon, before dawn today, the South Vietnamese Military Command said.

It was the first assault on a major city in the Saigon region during the five-week Communist offensive.

Reports from the area said that the Command’s radio link with the province capital, Xuan Loc. was still intact and indicated that Government defenders were holding their ground. The attack could provide the first test whether the South Vietnamese Army will stand and fight against the Communists after abandoning most of the northern

three-fourths of the country during the first month of the offensive.

Military officers said that North Vietnamese forces had fought their way into the city. Street fighting was reported around a church and the bus station.

The reports said that tanks did not enter the city but hit the rear base of an infantry unit about a mile to the east and also attacked other Government positions outside the city.

The headquarters of the South Vietnamese 18th infantry division, an armoured cavalry unit, is based in Xuan Luc, which has been under; heavy North Vietnamese pressure for the last several weeks.

It was too early to assess whether the attack was a prelude to an assault on Saigon itself. The traditional attackroutes on Saigon have been from the north and west.

■ Reports from the city said [that North Vietnamese forces • pushed into Xuan Loc after [a 2000-round artillery barrage. Some six hours after the attack began, the Government defenders had managed to drive back most of the attackers. although there were still pockets of resistance.